Alec Baldwin took a potshot at the airlines on “Saturday Night Live.”Dana Edelson/NBC

My fictional cousin Tibor, from the tiny nation of West Plaxico, recently flew to New York from LA, his first visit to the United States.

When we picked him up at the airport, he had a disturbing story to tell:

The man seated across from him on the airplane caused an ugly, angry, vulgar scene. When the flight crew asked that all cell phones and electronic devices be turned off, as per normal regulations, this man would not comply, apparently because he wanted to complete a word game he was playing with someone through his cell phone.

And even Tibor knows that these days the last place you want to defy authority and rules are in large airplanes. As Tibor noted, in 2011, such misconduct seems especially egregious; downright unnerving, even frightening.

The flight was delayed to remove this fool from the jet. Good riddance. “If I ever see this man again,” said Tibor, “I will tell him he is a selfish jerk!’

Three days into his stay here, Tibor turned on the TV to see the most fantastic, impossible thing:

There he was! That same man was on TV, a show called “Saturday Night Live,” and he was dressed in an airline pilot’s uniform — and he was having fun with what happened on that flight! The audience was laughing and making “Woo!” noises, as if the man performed some good, funny deed on that airplane. And this man appeared smug, proud of what he did, glad to have done it.

Two evenings later, Tibor turned on the TV again. A WNBC newscast was on. It showed the same clip from “SNL.” And afterwards the news anchors were smiling, again as if this man did something good, something worthy of a big laugh that all Americans can share.

“What kind of country is this?” Tibor asked.

We told Tibor that the that the man who disrupted and delayed the flight, caused needless anxiety and was thrown off the airplane because he placed his word game ahead of everything and everyone else is Alec Baldwin, a TV and movie star, that he does a lot of work for NBC — and helps NBC make money.

“Where is his shame?” Tibor asked. “Why would his company portray his behavior as good, as funny? Would it do the same for all airline passengers who behaved as this man did? Would this Baldwin man have found it funny had I instead acted that way on his flight?”

That’s the trouble with Cousin Tibor; he asks the worst kind of good questions — the kind to which there are no good answers.

* * *

Although I doubt that the Game Show Network was introduced to provide steady lessons in American popular culture, it does just that.

The generation-old and older games shows that appear on GSN are easily identified, not just by hair and clothing fashions, but by the contents of the shows.

Although “Card Sharks,” “25,000 Pyramid” and such had their naughty, winking sides — the word “melons” would cause hosts to raise their eyebrows — GSN’s new and newer shows are instantly distinguishable for their coarse sexual content. None of it is funny or even clever, but it doesn’t have to be — as long as it’s aimed at the crotch.

“Baggage” is GSN’s latest. Hosted by low-roader Jerry Springer, it’s not a game show as much as it is a session that encourages couples to talk dirty to and about each other, and to reveal sexual secrets, real or imagined. Apparently, bonus points are awarded for talk about threesomes. It’s rated M-PG — more pathetic garbage.